The Interface

At first, it seems rather obvious that the GUI is a crucial component to computing these days. Discussing certain aspects of the GUI in class seemed redundant...but thats just because it was brought up then in discussion and in the reading. In fact, I believe now that I honestly use my computer (or any computer for that matter for example an iphone) and 99.999999999% do not even think twice about the GUI. I commented in class that I still sometimes do things by the Terminal window on my mac...but is just for fun. I still even then don't really acknowledge the going around the GUI. The GUI, just is. It's just there. 99.9999% of my life using a computer was with a GUI.

It took a lot of thinking about how people recognize and interact with an environment for the GUI. The psychology of behavior and information seems pretty interesting. For example, it seem logical to organize information in nested folders....much like people are very much familiar with. However, already areas of the GUI are becoming obsolete...well...sort of. One used to have to go through folder after folder, nested information after nested information to find a file. It all makes sense though: A>B>C>D. But things like Apple's Spotlight search bar in their OS makes nested folder obsolete. I don't have to go looking through folders anymore, I simple type in the search bar, REASON, or, VDMX, and it comes right up. It doesn't matter where it is exactly...it could be 18 folders deep, but it will find it. Steps have been removed in the GUI....of course...the irony of this comment is that I am still basically relying on the GUI to access the Spotlight search engine.

Interface is important, and as we embark on the task of making 'organic' interactive digital art, how people will interact with it is important. An equal amount of thought must go into thinking about how people will be able to initially understand what is presented with them. This means it must be simple...the interface that is. No one wants t participate in something that is unbelievably complex...well...MOST people wont want to.

For example, the video we saw of the processing code piece that turned your shadow puppets into monsters. People need to recognize right way how they are interfacing with the piece. If that piece required for example, someone to turn it on, pick sensors, place them on their hands, be in the projects path etc etc it would fail as a piece. This interface is simple. Move in front of the projector...watch shadows turn into monsters. awesome.

So, conclusion. Make it simple.

let the art be as complex as you like. make the interface easy to understand.